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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 23, 2026

Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization

Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization

Published on: April 19, 2017

Input matters: Multi-accent language exposure affects word form recognition in infancy.

Marieke van Heugten¹, Elizabeth K Johnson²

¹Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 14260, USA mariekev@buffalo.edu.

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

|September 3, 2017

Summary

Infants exposed to multiple accents show improved word recognition. This early language exposure highlights the importance of accent variability in speech development research.

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Area of Science:

Developmental Psychology
Linguistics
Auditory Perception

Background:

Early language input varies significantly, with some infants hearing single accents and others multiple.
Few studies have investigated how accent variability affects word recognition, especially in pre-phonological constancy infants.
Understanding early speech perception requires considering the diversity of linguistic environments.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the impact of daily exposure to multiple accents on infant word recognition.
To examine accent variability's role in speech development before 18 months of age.
To establish the significance of linguistic input diversity in early language acquisition.

Main Methods:

Infants were assessed on a laboratory word form recognition task.
The study focused on infants prior to the emergence of phonological constancy (around 18 months).
Exposure to accent variability was a key factor in the experimental design.

Main Results:

Daily exposure to multiple accents significantly impacted infants' performance in word recognition.
Infants demonstrated a differential response to varied accent input.
Early exposure to accent variability influences speech processing abilities.

Conclusions:

Accent variability in early linguistic input is a crucial factor influencing infant word recognition.
Future research on speech development must account for the diversity of accents in infants' environments.
This study underscores the need to consider real-world language exposure in developmental studies.